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Midway Village Museum

Midwest Living Review

Catey Sullivan

Authentic buildings and artifacts return visitors to a rural Illinois farm town of the late 1800s and early 1900s.

This impressively authentic Victorian village offers a glimpse of life in northern Illinois between 1890 and 1910. Tour guides in period dress lead you through 24 historical buildings filled with artifacts of rural life, including a hardware store, general store, print shop, blacksmith shop, one-room schoolhouse, hotel, fire station, police station, hospital, bank, carpenter shop, town hall and law office. Other attractions on the 137-acre campus include the Old Millhouse, a working replica of a water-powered machine shop. Exhibits include dollhouses, artifacts from Rockford's pioneer aviators and other pieces of local history. The museum hosts special events, such a Civil War symposium and the annual Sock Monkey Madness Festival. Admission is charged.